Counter-Strike 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D sits at the absolute top of the tested field for Counter-Strike 2, holding the number 1 position out of 2,870 tested combos. This is not a marginal lead; the data places this configuration as the single fastest combination recorded in the database for this title. When considering the GPU’s own standing, it ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all CPUs — both are elite-tier components, and their combined performance reflects that synergy.

What makes this ranking particularly notable is the consistency across the measured spectrum. The combo does not merely excel at one resolution or setting; it dominates at every tested point. At 1080p Low, it produces 814 FPS average, a figure that is so high it approaches the practical limits of display refresh rates available today. Even at the most demanding tested configuration — 4K Ultra — it still delivers 145 FPS average, which is above the threshold for high-refresh-rate gaming. The data indicates that this pairing is overkill for Counter-Strike 2 in nearly every scenario, yet it also shows that the game scales exceptionally well with top-tier hardware.

The nearest rival comparisons reinforce the GPU’s standing. The RTX 5090 D’s average benchmark score of 77,712 is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. While these deltas are small, the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are in a different class, which becomes relevant in a game like Counter-Strike 2 that is often CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The CPU, meanwhile, holds an average benchmark score of 49,394, which is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, but 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388. These margins are within noise, but the 14-core, 20-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock provides the single-threaded headroom that Counter-Strike 2’s engine favors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, housing 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The GPU features 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, along with 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and the memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The memory subsystem is the standout feature: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This is far beyond what Counter-Strike 2 needs at any resolution or setting, but it ensures that the GPU is never the bottleneck in this pairing.

In Counter-Strike 2 specifically, the GPU’s role shifts depending on the resolution and settings. At 4K Ultra, where the visual load is heaviest, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, producing 145 FPS average. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 4K, dropping from Ultra to High increases average FPS by 42 frames (187 FPS), and further dropping to Medium yields 250 FPS average with a minimum of 213 FPS and maximum of 288 FPS. At 4K Low, the average jumps to 301 FPS. This pattern confirms that the GPU’s compute and memory resources are being heavily taxed at 4K Ultra, but the card still delivers playable frame rates.

The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate are more than sufficient for this game’s Source 2 engine. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s ensures that even at 4K resolution, the rasterization pipeline is not a bottleneck. The RTX 5090 D’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (version 12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 APIs are all relevant, though Counter-Strike 2 primarily leverages DirectX and Vulkan paths. The GPU’s passmark G3D score of 44,065 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 place it in the top tier of the database, corroborating the measured FPS results in-game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5 in dual-channel configuration, and ECC memory is supported. The CPU uses Intel Socket 1700 with PCIe Gen 5 support (16 lanes from the CPU). The multiplier is unlocked, which allows for overclocking headroom, though the measured FPS data does not indicate whether overclocking was applied.

In Counter-Strike 2, the CPU’s role is critical at lower resolutions. The data demonstrates this clearly: at 1080p Low, the combo produces 814 FPS average, while at 4K Low it produces 301 FPS average. The 1080p Low result is so high that it suggests the CPU is still the primary driver even at that setting, with the GPU having ample headroom. The i5-14600KF’s single-threaded performance — evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,594 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,445 — is what enables these frame rates. Counter-Strike 2’s engine is known to be sensitive to single-threaded performance, and this CPU delivers in spades.

The multi-threaded performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,544 and Geekbench multi-core score of 17,085. However, the game’s scaling with cores is limited; the 14-core configuration provides headroom for background tasks and streaming, but the FPS deltas between settings at the same resolution are more attributable to GPU load than CPU throughput. The CPU’s PassMark multi-thread score of 38,697 and single-thread score of 4,273 (also listed as 4,273 for singlethread) place it in the top 10% of all CPUs, which aligns with the 90th percentile ranking. The nearest rival comparisons show the CPU is within 0.8% of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388, indicating that this is one of the fastest gaming processors available.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Medium settings are the only ones with min and max FPS recorded, while others only have averages.

1920x1080: At Low settings, the combo delivers 814 FPS average — the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 676 FPS average, with a minimum of 575 FPS and maximum of 778 FPS. High settings yield 505 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 392 FPS average. The delta from Low to Ultra is 422 FPS, demonstrating that even at 1080p, the settings menu has a substantial impact on frame rates.

2560x1440: Low settings produce 539 FPS average — a significant drop from 1080p Low but still exceptionally high. Medium settings deliver 448 FPS average, with a minimum of 380 FPS and maximum of 515 FPS. High settings yield 334 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 260 FPS average. The delta from Low to Ultra is 279 FPS, showing that the resolution increase compresses the settings scaling.

3840x2160: Low settings deliver 301 FPS average — the lowest Low-setting result but still far above what most systems achieve at 4K. Medium settings produce 250 FPS average, with a minimum of 213 FPS and maximum of 288 FPS. High settings yield 187 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 145 FPS average. The delta from Low to Ultra is 156 FPS, which is the smallest spread across all resolutions, indicating that at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same settings is also instructive. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by 275 (814 to 539), and moving from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by 238 (539 to 301). At Ultra settings, the same transitions reduce FPS by 132 (392 to 260) and 115 (260 to 145) respectively. This pattern shows that the performance penalty for resolution scaling is more pronounced at lower settings, where the CPU has more headroom to push frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with 814 FPS at Low and 392 FPS at Ultra. However, 2560x1440 also produces excellent results, with 539 FPS at Low and 260 FPS at Ultra. The choice depends on display capabilities, but the measured data indicates that even 4K Ultra at 145 FPS average is playable.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). It also trails the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396) by 2.1% and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) by 2.4%.

Q: Is the i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low (814 FPS average), the CPU is likely the limiting factor. The i5-14600KF’s single-thread score of 4,594 in Cinebench R23 and 4,273 in PassMark single-thread place it in the top 10% of CPUs, and the combo still ranks 1st out of 2,870 tested combinations.

Q: What settings produce the highest minimum FPS?

A: The only settings with recorded minimum FPS are Medium at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 575 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 380 FPS; and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 213 FPS. These are the only min FPS values provided in the data.

Q: How much faster is this combo at 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 814 FPS average, while at 4K Ultra it achieves 145 FPS average. This represents a 669 FPS difference, meaning the 1080p Low result is approximately 5.6 times higher than the 4K Ultra result. The scaling is not linear, but it shows the significant impact of both resolution and settings.

Q: Does the GPU’s 32 GB VRAM matter for Counter-Strike 2?

A: The data does not show VRAM usage, but the 32 GB GDDR7 configuration with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is far beyond what the game requires. The measured FPS results are consistent across all settings, and the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile, indicating that its memory capacity is not a limiting factor in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the data clearly favors Low settings. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 814 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. Even at 1440p Low, 539 FPS average is achieved, and at 4K Low, 301 FPS average is still far above the refresh rate of most monitors. Low settings in Counter-Strike 2 typically reduce visual clutter and improve visibility, making this the optimal choice for players prioritizing performance and clarity.

For those seeking a balance between visual quality and performance, Medium settings are the strongest recommendation. This is the only setting tier with min and max FPS data, providing a more complete picture of stability. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 676 FPS average with a minimum of 575 FPS — a rock-solid experience. At 1440p Medium, 448 FPS average with a minimum of 380 FPS remains excellent. At 4K Medium, 250 FPS average with a minimum of 213 FPS is still above 144Hz refresh rates.

High settings offer diminishing returns. At 1080p High, 505 FPS average is still very high, but the drop from Medium is 171 FPS. At 1440p High, 334 FPS average is a 114 FPS drop from Medium. At 4K High, 187 FPS average is a 63 FPS drop from Medium. The visual improvements in Counter-Strike 2’s Source 2 engine are subtle at these levels, making High a less compelling choice.

Ultra settings are only advisable for players with 4K displays who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1080p Ultra, 392 FPS average is still playable, but the 284 FPS drop from Low is substantial. At 1440p Ultra, 260 FPS average is adequate for 240Hz displays. At 4K Ultra, 145 FPS average is the lowest measured result but remains above the 144Hz threshold, making it viable for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors.

The optimal settings depend on the display’s native resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p 240Hz or 360Hz displays, Low or Medium settings will keep frame rates well above the refresh ceiling. For 1440p 240Hz displays, Low or Medium settings provide ample headroom. For 4K 144Hz displays, Medium settings at 250 FPS average offer the best combination of visual quality and performance, while Ultra at 145 FPS average is the only setting that dips near the refresh limit. The data suggests that this combo is so powerful that players should prioritize settings that maximize visibility and frame rate stability, as the hardware will never be the limiting factor in Counter-Strike 2.